Saturday, November 14, 2009

Lieberman: Withdrawal won't end conflict

A withdrawal to the 1967 borders will not end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Foreign Minister Avigodor Lieberman warned in a speech at the Saban Forum in Jerusalem Saturday.

"A return to 1967 borders and the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria will not end the conflict, but rather, shift it into Israel's borders," he said, adding that such circumstances would prompt Arab-Israeli demands for autonomy in the Galilee and the Negev.

The foreign minister also warned that the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders would lead to growing attachment between Israeli Arabs and the Palestinian entity.

Former US President Bill Clinton is scheduled to take part in the forum Sunday.

In a speech earlier, Clinton said that he is convinced that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement would have been finalized within three years had Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin not been assassinated.

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are also slated to take part in the Saban Forum this year.